SPIA Mark VIII
VIII, or Eight, was the eighth SPIA project prototype. This eighth iteration of subjects was brought on by the theory that the subjects thus far had been physically or mentally unsuitable due to their shared genetics, and that a randomized clone of a single individual, in this case Commander Wanderer, over two might create a more viable prototype. Eight is a female SPIA unit, standing at 6' and exhibiting physical and mental traits markedly similar to her progenitor's. Eight's tattoos glow a light green as compared to One's blue and Two's red, and is markedly faster than either of them due to a number of augmentations included in her design. One of these augmentations was the MK II PCB, based on the MK I PCB weapon that is installed in ADOM IV units. This weapon was a prototype of a man-portable version of the PCB, but was deemed to be unusable, as it required the SPIA's frankly impressive internal power generation to supply it with enough energy to run properly, and said generation was far too expensive to be issued to soldiers in the field. History In keeping with established protocol, put in place after SPIA MK II was determined to be a viable candidate, Eight was meant to be "raised" and trained by her sole progenitor. The experiment was carried out, with some newer experimental weapons technology fitted to the endoskeleton before the organic printing process, as was protocol with SPIA subjects by this point. SPIA Subject Mark VIII was deemed mechanically and mentally viable: however, due to slight unforeseen errors in the single-subject cloning process, Subject Eight, a female, was made quadriplegic. As a result, Eight was wheelchair-bound and was only capable of movement while engaging the endoskeleton's servo boosters, an excruciatingly painful process for reasons unknown. Due to this, Eight resigned herself to becoming an analyst for her "father", a task that she enjoyed well enough. However, Wanderer, still dealing with quite a bit of guilt accumulated from the long series of failures and invalid subjects created by the SPIA project, endeavored to develop a method of correcting the errors that had crippled Eight. This research was officially sanctioned under HU, as the other commanders had hopes that if Wanderer succeeded, then the process might have the potential for duplication. It was reasoned that even if the process only functioned for one subject, HU would still double their number of viable SPIA subjects. Eventually, after a number of years, Wanderer developed a process by which he could force a full regeneration, a process Duohumans undergo in emergencies when they are in desperate need of healing. The process would regenerate and replace every organic cell in Eight excluding higher functions and memory, and had a high probability of restoring whatever damage had been done during the printing process. Eight consented to the procedure immediately. While the process successfully restored the damaged neurological tissue that had caused the quadriplegia and gave full bodily control to Eight, it was deemed not viable for use with other SPIA subjects for a number of reasons. Primarily, there was the fact that the entire procedure had turned out to be risky in the extreme: Eight's heart was restarted during the process no less than three times, and the regeneration nearly failed to start, which would have simply rendered all cells incapable of mitosis, and very nearly failed to end, which would have turned Subject Eight into a perpetually growing mass of tumor tissue. Personality Eight has been described as cavalier, reckless, and even headstrong. She, for better or for worse, has complete faith in her own abilities, and lacks regard for safety precautions in many situations. Due to this, Eight has been designated as far too much of a liability when alone in combat, and has been deemed to be stable only in the presence of her "brothers" One and Two. While generally rather disregarding of safety or brevity, Eight is relatively mentally stable, though possessing of deep-seated fears of being helpless and of being returned to her wheelchair. These fears have manifested themselves as an almost singular devotion to physical and mental training, which has allowed Eight to very quickly master the usage of the MK II PCB units implanted into her knuckles, as well as making her someone that is not easily approachable.